{% include "includes/auth/janrain/signIn_traditional.html" with message='It looks like you are already verified. If you still have trouble signing in, you probably need a new confirmation link email.' %}

Hundreds turn out for Shawty Lo’s funeral

An hour before the memorial service for Carlos “Shawty Lo” Walker began at noon on Saturday, the parking lot of Jackson Memorial Baptist Church was nearing capacity, and pews inside the spacious sanctuary were quickly filling with mourners. Three hours after it began, the service was still going on.

“Shawty Lo I knew every season of his life,” said Bishop Dreyfus C. Smith, senior Pastor of Wings of Faith Worldwide Ministries, who delivered a powerful eulogy. “I knew a season I won’t mention because it don’t matter. I knew the season when he started D4L. I knew the season when he tried to rap a little bit.”

He paid tribute to the man behind the music industry success, too.

“The Shawty Lo that I really respect is not a ring tone,” Smith said. “It’s not the rap, it’s not the video, it’s not the dance. Shawty helped more people on the west side than most pastors and churches combined. Shawty Lo paid rent for people that didn’t pay him back, put food on people’s table that would have been hungry, put people on his payroll. Some earned it, some was just hanging on.”

He is survived by 11 children, who came together for a joint tribute. After sharing individually, they spoke as one: “He will always be our king.” In one touching, emotional moment, the older children helped his youngest say goodbye to “Dada:”